


A Turks Whumptober 4-5-6-7

by CN_Delta



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Aerith is precious, Blood, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Turks (Compilation of FFVII), Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:28:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26932144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CN_Delta/pseuds/CN_Delta
Summary: A nice day quickly goes wrong, and the Turks have to act quickly to save one of their own.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	A Turks Whumptober 4-5-6-7

**Author's Note:**

> For Whumptober 2020, days 4, 5, 6, AND 7!
> 
> Sometime after Before Crisis, but before Crisis Core. ...listen cannon is flexible ok just bear with me.

She knew Tseng was following her.He had a presence that she could just sense from a mile away, even on the days when he tried to be secretive and keep his distance - Aerith could always tell when she had that extra shadow behind her.

But today she wanted to have some fun with him; it wasn’t fair how easily he could always find her, so she was going to make it a  _challenge_. Shinra must have been paying them well, after all; it was time he  _ earned  _ that paycheck!

The game was afoot, a mindless zigzag all throughout the Sector 5 slums.She’d walk casually, humming a song to herself, then break into a giddy sprint between buildings or across the stepping stones of the streams to try and throw him off her trail.It was almost like playing hide and seek in the Shinra tower again, like she and the other kids had done so long ago - back when life was innocent and the world didn’t seem so tragic.Tseng, still just a teenager yet already wearing the Turks suit, would sometimes join in the frivolity.

When he did, he always won.

She’d stopped momentarily to catch her breath, still giggling to herself about how silly the whole thing was, when Tseng appeared in the doorway of the abandoned house she’d ducked into.“And  _ where _ do you think you’re going, young lady?”

The laughter erupted from her in a wave, wagging one finger at the raven-haired man with a grin.“Why were  _ you  _ following me, Mister Tseng?”

“Simply assuring your safety is all.”He took another step forwards, the light revealing his perfectly tailored suit and usual polite smile.“You seem to be on quite the adventure today.”

“Oh, you know-!”She spun around on the balls of her feet, staff held loosely behind her back with both hands.“Have to make your own fun around here, and there’s still lots of places I haven’t explored!”

His tone became more serious.“You shouldn’t go running off by yourself, Aerith.You could get hurt.”

A mischievous emerald-eyed glance shot towards him as he moved alongside her.“But I’m  not alone - you’re here with me!”

At that he closed his eyes and gave her a wider smile, shaking his head.“Shouldn’t you be tending to your flowers?”

“Oh, I already have!”She looped one arm around his, playfully pulling him along as she started to cross the decrepit wooden floorboards.“In fact, it looked like somebody had already been there today to water them!But  _ you _ wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Tseng?”

The Turks would often stop by the church to visit her, check on her well-being, and above all try to convince her to return to Shinra Tower with them.But on days when she wasn’t there, it had become a habit to gently touch the soil, feel for dampness, and maybe sprinkle some water across the delicate blossoms if they were too dry.More often than not it was Rude who took up the task, since she’d instilled a fondness for plants in the stolid man - but this morning, it had been Tseng himself.

She’d spent plenty of time explaining her reverence for the planet in their talks together, and it was the least he could do to show her that he appreciated what she had to say.Especially if he wanted to keep her trust.

“So, Aerith.”The Turk stopped halfway through the room and gently unlinked his arm from hers, scanning - as was his instinct - for any potential dangers.“What are you searching for here, anyway?”

“Nothing in particular!”She hummed a quiet tune, walking over to a desk at the edge of the room and blowing some dust from it.“I like to try and imagine the people that used to live here before us, that...”Her voice trailed off and she stiffened, tightening the grip on her staff.“...Tseng, come here.”

The hairs of his neck bristled at the sound of her voice and he quickly stepped to her side, peering down at the papers on the desk.

“These are...”

He’d seen them before - plans for improvised explosives, often found in the AVALANCHE safe houses they’d raided in years past.Strange; this area had never been on their radar.

A flip of the page revealed another set of schematics, and then at the bottom was a crudely scrawn note in bold red letters:

** DIE, SHINRA DOGS **

“Aerith - we have to get out of here,  _ now! _ ”

“What-“

“Don’t ask, just  _ go! _ ”He grabbed her arm and physically threw her in the direction of the doorway, then grabbed his PHS and started to dial headquarters as he ran behind her; the whole house was a trap, one that Shinra had been lucky to never come across, and one that Aerith had innocently stumbled upon.

There was a loud explosion somewhere behind and underneath them, sending wooden shrapnel flying in all directions.Tseng leapt forwards in an effort to shield Aerith, barking out “ _ Run as fast as you can! _ ” before his entire body hit the floor in a roll.

Then the second explosion came, and the last thing he saw was her panic-stricken face screaming his name before the roof caved in on top of him.

—-

“ _ Tseng! _ ”

She fell to her knees, watching with horror as the last of the debris that had once been a house collapsed in on itself.She’d just barely made it outside, but Tseng-

_ No _ _,_ there was no time for thinking the worst;  _he’s got to still be alive!_ She leapt to her feet and ran back towards the pile of wood and rubble, crying out, “Please - if you hear me, just hang on! _ Please! _ I’ll find a way to - you’re gonna be ok!”

This was  _ her _ fault, if she hadn’t been so intent on playing games, if she’d just played by the rules-

Ignoring the tears of panic that pricked her eyes, she grabbed the first beam she could find and flipped it over and out of the way.Then another.And another.Pieces of broken glass sliced her palms and she ignored them, desperate to find a way in, to find a way to him, to  _ free _ him.Old rotted shingles were swept away with her staff, and then the front door, which she managed to slide back and away from the pile, again calling out “Tseng!Can you hear me at all?!”

A light on the ground caught her eye and she reached down for it - Tseng’s PHS, still mostly intact thanks to the door having fallen across it before anything else could.“Oh, Gaia have mercy, please work,  _please_ -“ She swiped the screen and hit the last number that had been dialed.

One ring.

Two rings.

“Chief?”

It was Rude’s voice, and she nearly yelped - “Rude - Rude  _ please _ come quick, Tseng’s - he’s hurt, there was a house and an explosion and it caved in and-“

There was a confused sound, and then, “Aerith?”

“Yes it’s me -  _please_ , you have to come quick-“

The line clicked and another voice came on - she recognized it as Reno’s.“Heeeyyyy, flower girl - deep breaths, ok?Are  you all right?”

“Yes I’m fine, but Tseng-“

“Listen to me, there’s a red button on the back of the phone.It’s a locator beacon.Press that and we’ll be able to find you real quick.Do it now.”

She pulled the phone from her ear and saw the red button, pressing it as hard as she could before returning to the call.“I did it - can you-“

“We see ya, Sector Five, in the back area.Gettin’ the chopper ready right now.Can you see or hear anything ticking or beeping, anything burning, any lights?”

“N-no, just the house-“

“We’re on our way.Stay calm.Try to get to the Chief but if anything feels off,  _ run _ .Un’nerstand me?”

“But-“

“We’re gonna get him out.Promise.Keep yourself safe until we get there.”

The line went silent and she took in a shaky breath, then placed the PHS on the ground nearby.Keeping herself safe be  damned , she wasn’t giving up or waiting, and went back to the task of digging through as much of the rubble as she could.

——

Everything was black, and the air - what little air there was - filled with dust and dirt and the smell of spent gunpowder.

Tseng couldn’t hear much except a terrible ringing in his ears; that second explosion had been close enough to deafen him.His legs and left arm were pinned underneath the wreckage, and there was a terrible pain shooting through his right shoulder and chest that told him something had gone straight through him.Something big.

But for now, he was alive.He had to cling to that, and to the knowledge that he’d  seen Aerith get out in time.Even if he didn’t make it out... the Ancient was safe.His duty to the company had been fulfilled.And most importantly, his duty to  _ himself _ .

She’d been so young when they met, yet still so brave for a little girl in her circumstances.When she’d escaped from Shinra, he made a promise to himself to look after her.To keep her safe.She grew up strong, smart, hardly in need of protection... or so most people might think, but he knew better.He’d seen the horrors and dangers that came with the company, with its  _ enemies _ .And he refused to let the child he’d watched grow up endure any of that.She was like a sibling to him, and he would protect her until the bitter end.

Even if that end was sooner rather than later.

  
Even if it was today.

———

Stumbling on a broken piece of wood, Aerith hissed under her breath and used both arms to hurl it away from the pile.She was concentrating on the area she’d last seen Tseng before the building went down, and the pieces seemed to get heavier as her adrenaline rush wore off.

“Where  _ are they?! _ ” she howled furiously into the air, grabbing another piece of wood and throwing it clear across the ground.

A noise - a human noise, somewhere nearby, beneath the pile.

“ _Tseng?!_ ” She gasped and started digging with a renewed frenzy, tossing aside roofing shingles and splintered chunks of framing.“Tseng, can you hear me?!”

Nothing but the wind answered her, save for a quiet noise that could have been the creaking of debris, or the groan of her injured companion.

Another piece of wood thrown aside, followed by an armful of broken wall board, and she gasped when she caught sight of a single lock of dark black hair.“Tseng!”

The lack of movement or response terrified her, but did nothing to deter her from diving into the wreckage with every ounce of strength she had - not stopping even when the Shinra helicopter roared overhead and then touched down several yards away, sending dirt flying up every which way.

“Aerith!”It was Rude, who’d barely let Reno touch the chopper down before he’d leapt out and started running towards her.“Get away from there, it’s-“

“I found him!”She waved frantically, crouched on the edge of what used to be a ceiling plank.“Rude he’s - oh, Gaia please let him be all right...”

The large man climbed up next to her and put one protective arm in front of her chest, as though afraid she might fall.One look down told him everything they needed to know about the situation - it had  _ absolutely _ been a trap, and Tseng was laying over a pool of his own blood, skewered through his right shoulder and chest by one of a number of large spikes that had been waiting just beneath the floorboards.“...Aerith, stand back.I don’t want you falling down there.”

She nodded, choking back the sob in her throat, and slowly started to climb back down the pile.Her dress got caught on one plank and tore as she tripped, only to be caught in Reno’s arms with, “Whoa - easy there, don’t need two injured people to tend to!”

“Reno.”Rude beckoned him with a solemn nod of his head - one which didn’t go unnoticed by Aerith, and prompted her to let loose the tears she was holding back as she grabbed Reno’s arm and buried her face into it.

“Hey -  _ hey! _ ”The redhead clicked his tongue and gently pulled her into his body, smoothing some bits of dirt out of her hair.“It’s all right - you’re safe.You’re ok.”

“Tseng-“

“The Chief?”He laughed easily and touched the bottom of her chin, tilting her head up to look into his electric blue eyes.“He’s tougher’n all of us, he’s gonna be ok.”

“It’s my fault!”

“ _Fault?_ ” Another tsk and he shook his head.“The only thing that’s your  _ fault  _ is the fact that he’s gonna get out of here alive.You  _ saved _ him.”

“But... if it weren’t for me-“

“If it weren’t for  _you_ ,  we wouldn’t know where to find him.”Giving her a gentle nudge with his elbow, he nodded towards the ground a few feet away.“Go stand back where it’s safe, let us professionals handle the ugly part.”One finger brushed her cheek, wiping away a stray tear.“No more crying, either - we need our sassy flower peddler with the smart mouth back.Ok?”

She managed a half-smile and nodded, sniffling.“Ok!”

“Atta girl!”

——-

Rude glanced back to make sure Aerith was a safe distance away, and then at Reno, whose mood had shifted from damage control to deadly serious as soon as he got alongside him.“What did you tell her?”

“The truth.”Reno sighed quietly, pulling his fingerless leather gloves taut before placing both hands on the edge of the wreckage.“That he’s  _ gonna be ok _ .”With one swift motion he flipped himself off the ledge, landing expertly on the safe part of the ground near Tseng.“... _ fuck _ me that’s a lot of blood - Chief?Tseng, can you hear me?”

He reached out to touch Tseng’s face, and exhaled sharply with relief as the man’s eyelids fluttered.“We got a reaction!”

“....Aerith?”Tseng’s voice came out as a raspy whisper, and he struggled to open his eyes.

A snort and Reno reached into his pocket, pulling out a potion as he quipped, “If I look as pretty as her then I must be doing something right - open your mouth and drink this, you lost way too much blood.Our flower girl’s just fine.”

Tseng’s eyes were still unfocused but he did as he was told, coughing from the acrid herbal taste as it burned its way down into his stomach.

“Yo Rude - start clearing shit away, we’re gonna need a safe path to get him out of here!”His eyes turned back to Tseng, who now looked a bit more alert but in thirty times more pain.“‘Ey Chief... sorry for the nasty awakening but... situation’s kinda ugly.”

Dark gazed fixed on him, Tseng ground out, “I  _noticed_ ,” between clenched teeth.

“Don’t try to move, I need to get your legs free and then we gotta deal with...”He gestured at the metal spike through Tseng’s upper body.“That.”

There was a moment where he was certain Tseng would have punched him if he were able to, but it ended when a second coughing fit left the other man with tears in his eyes and an expression of sheer agony on his face.“...just get.This  _ thing _ . _ Out of me _ _._ ”

He never thought hearing Tseng sound that angry at him would be a relief, but when Aerith called from his PHS in a panic and then Rude had given him  _ that look  _ from the top of the pile \-  he had expected the worst.They were Turks, their job meant that they dealt with death on a near-daily basis; but when it was one of their own... nobody was ever really prepared.Sure, he could easily slip into his care-free persona and take over command, issue orders and offer comfort and make snarky remarks like they all expected of him.

But that was all just a mask for the maelstrom of emotions ripping at his gut and chewing away at his mind.Losing a fellow Turk was like losing a limb, or a family member, or a best friend.Nobody ever fully recovered from it.

_ Can’t think about the what-if’s Reno, just get the job done. _

Outside of the pit, he could hear his partner utilizing every attack and bit of strength he had to break and move away the largest of the debris, and soon there was enough light for him to see the extent of Tseng’s injuries as he carefully unburied his limbs from the rubble.His left arm was probably broken, right foot looked askew, and there were angry red abrasions all over his visible skin.Moving him was going to be risky as all hell, but there was no time to sweep the area for unspent munitions so they could get a proper medical team in.“How ya doin’, Chief?”

Tseng’s glassy eyes fixed on him in a glare - an unspoken  _ how do I  ** look ** like I’m doing? _

“Yeah, stupid question, I know.”He tossed aside the last plank of wood with a growl, the still-growing pool of blood caught in his peripheral vision.They had to speed things up before it got to the point that  _ no _ amount of healing support would do any good.

A sudden gust of powerful wind swept across them and carried a pile of topside debis along with it, enough that Reno could clearly see Aerith standing at the edge of the wreckage with her staff in hand.She made another large gesture and he had to shield his eyes from flying bits and pieces, barely able to see as the last of their path was cleared by the gust.“‘Eyyyy, check  you out - flower girl to the rescue!”

“My  _ name _ -“ she hissed, darting down the now-cleared path, “-is  _ Aerith! _ ”Ignoring both him and the bloodied ground, she moved alongside Tseng and put one hand on his forehead.“Oh, Tseng - you’re  _ awake _ \- Gods, I’m so sorry, I never wanted you to get hurt!”

He smiled weakly and shook his head a bit, whispering a quiet shush to her.“Not your fault.”

Rude appeared and made his way towards them, carrying the field medical kit they kept in the helicopter.

“Hey partner, not to be - well,  _ rude _ , but.”Reno made a face, gesturing to Tseng.“The  hell good is  _ that _ gonna do us?!”

Without a word, Rude flipped open the box and produced a Healing materia from it.

“... _ oh _ .”

Aerith shook her head, watching as Rude equipped it.“That’s not going to do any good while he’s like this, we have to pick him up first or the wound can’t close.”

“A wound that size won’t even close with magic alone.”Barely visible behind his sunglasses, Rude’s eyes flicked to Reno.“Nothing in the chopper we can cut through this with.”

“Right.”The redhead’s face turned grim, pulling his lips into a tight line as he looked around the area.“...shit.Flow - er,  _Aerith_. ”Reno moved his gaze to her.“Anything in your bag of tricks that might cut through this thing?”

She looked at the metal spike protruding from the ground and shook her head.“Just Healing and Wind.”

“Two healers, no tools.”Heaving a sigh, he ran the fingers of one hand through his hair.“All right, looks like we gotta do this the hard way.How much gauze is in that kit?”

Rude scoffed, raising an eyebrow.“Two pads.”

“ _ What?! _ Who the  _ fuck  _ used the kit and didn’t re-stock it?!”

“You did, Reno.”

“...all right, well, remind me to write myself the  _ fuck _ up when we get back!”He gave another sweeping glance around, muttering, “We gotta plug up the hole in him with  _ something! _ “

“Hey!”Aerith reached down, grabbing the part of her dress that tore when she’d tripped.“We can use this, just rip the bottom part off!”

Reno raised an eyebrow.“...you  _ sure _ about-“

“It’s ruined anyway - Rude, do you mind?”

He seemed mildly uncomfortable but did as requested, crouching down to take her dress at the tear and carefully rip it all the way around her legs.“My apologies, Aerith - this should be enough.”

Reno looked between the two of them, then down at Tseng, whose expression portrayed how badly the blood loss was affecting him.“Shit, we gotta move  _now_. All right, here’s the plan - Aerith, I’m gonna lift him up.As soon as I get him clear of the spike, your job is to hit him with the strongest Cure you have, get those wounds as small as possible.Partner-“He turned to Rude.“-you’re gonna grab him and get that compress on his back, keep as much blood as you can  _ in _ him. Timing is _key_ .Got it?”

Both Aerith and Rude nodded, responding, “Got it,” in near unison.

“Good.Chief...”He carefully touched Tseng’s arm, noting the wince that flashed across his face.“...this is gonna hurt like  _ hell _ , but at least you’ll live to reprimand me for it.”

Aerith took her place ready at Tseng’s side, while Rude moved closer to his feet.

“On my count, guys.”Crouching down, Reno aligned his shoulders with Tseng’s and snaked his arms under either side of him.“Here we go, one - two -  _ three! _ ”

Reno grunted under the man’s weight.Aerith gasped.And Tseng screamed as though he were being murdered, a terrible, long, deep-throated cry that ended in a strangled note as he came free of the spike.

Immediately Aerith was on him, guiding the healing spell with her hand as Reno pushed him upwards; from there Rude took over, using his body as a prop for Tseng to collapse onto while he jammed the torn part of Aerith’s dress into the now-smaller wound of his back.

“Get him to the chopper and hit him with another Cure!” Reno barked, pointing up the pathway.As Rude lifted Tseng up over his shoulder, he turned back to Aerith and flashed her a grin.“Thanks for the help, flower girl - guess we can say you’re an honorary Turk now!”

“No thanks!” she snorted, only now noticing the blood that covered her boots and some of her arms.“Oh, Gaia-“

“Well, ya definitely  _ look _ the part!”Winking, he stuck his tongue out at her.“Now get on outta here and go somewhere safe, we’ll make sure he’s all right!”He gave her a two-fingered salute and started running up the path, then turned abruptly to shout back down to her, “Hey - and wash yourself off before you go home!Or Elmyra is gonna  _ kill _ us!”

————

It had only been one day when Rude showed up at the church.He politely waited by the doorway while she finished her prayers in front of the flower bed, then announced, “Tseng is in recovery and doing well.He said to thank you.”

“For what?”

“Saving his life.”

She shook her head, slowly gathering some of the white and yellow blooms together in a vase.“I didn’t do any such thing, you two were the ones who saved him.”

“I believe he begs to differ.”

Laughing quietly, she turned and walked towards him with the vase in hand.“Well, you tell  _ him  _ that I said he should be thanking his team.Here.”She held the glass vessel up to him, purposely tickling his nose with the flower petals.

“What’s this?”

“A gift, silly.For Tseng!If he’s going to be in recovery for awhile, he may as well have something nice to look at.”Smiling, she plucked one of the flowers out of the bouquet and stood on her toes in order to slide it into the lapel buttonhole of Rude’s suit. “There - see?Flowers can even make _Turks_ look nice!”

Rude smiled in return and nodded at her, gently cradling the vase in one of his leather-gloved hands.“I’ll see that he gets it quickly.”

“Oh, wait!”She zipped back to the flower patch and carefully clipped another one, then ran back over to him.“Here, one for Reno too!”Winking, she whispered, “Try to stick it in his ponytail when he’s not looking!”

For what may have been the first time ever, Aerith heard him laugh - it was more of a subdued chuckle, but she definitely heard it.“I’ll see what I can do.”

He turned towards the door and she tilted her head, confused.“Wait - you’re not staying?I don’t get my very own Turk for the day?”

“Not today.”There was a grin tugging at his mouth as he glanced over his shoulder at her.“Seems we’re a little short-staffed.Might be a week or two, maybe even three.”

The undertone of  _ you’re being given a reprieve  _ was welcomed, and she nodded her head in understanding.“Well, I don’t know  what I’ll do without you guys!It’ll be far too quiet!Maybe even...  _ peaceful! _ ”

Rude’s shoulders shrugged.“You stay safe,” he replied, and then headed back out towards the street.

——-

Another two and a half weeks passed without any sighting of her darkly-suited shadows, and Aerith found that she almost,  _ almost _ missed them.

Until she came home one night and found Elmyra in a terribly foul mood, clearly frustrated at something.“What’s wrong?” she asked, kicking her mud-clad boots off next to the front door.

“That - that  _ man  _ was here looking for you!You know, the one with the-“She gestured at her head.“-the stupid red hair!And the tattoos!”

“Reno?”

“Yes,  _ that _ one!How do you deal with him, he’s so...”

“Childish?Annoying?”Grinning, she slid into the empty seat at the table.“Sarcastic?”

“ _ All of those! _ He came here looking for you, I told him you were at the church and - instead of leaving he just  _ stayed _ here!Ranting on and on about some flower in his hair, he didn’t notice it until he got home, he was going to get you-“

Laughing loudly, Aerith bowed her head to the table.“Don’t worry about him - he’s just mad I played a prank on him!”

“Well, tell them to send  _ Rude _ next time!At least he’s polite!”Elmyra sipped her tea, then straightened up and gestured across the room.“Oh, and  _ that man _ brought a package for you, dear.I left it on your bed.”

“...a package?”She glanced towards the hall quizzically.“I wonder what that could be.”

“Don’t ask me, go see for yourself!”

Nodding, she got up and made a bee-line for her room; on the comforter of her bed was a medium sized, neatly-wrapped parcel with no identifying markings on it.“Interesting...”

She knew nobody involved with the Turks would dare try to hurt her but still used care opening it, just in case.Inside the brown paper wrapping was a simple box, and a folded piece of paper with her name in very neat cursive.

_ Aerith- _

_ It will still be some time before I can thank you in person, so I hope these will suffice in the meanwhile. _

_ With Gratitude, _

_ T. _

Sighing, she set the note aside and started pulling at the tape on the box.In her mind there was still no need to thank her, she had been the one to get him  _ into _ that situation, and-

“Oh... oh, wow!”She let out a surprised squeak and pulled out the first item in the box: it was the same dress she had worn that day, but a brand new one to replace the one they’d torn apart.The original dress had been a few years old and, as far as she knew, was no longer in shops -  _ he must have gone through so much trouble to find this! _

Underneath that was the second gift, something heavier and wrapped in protective foam.She carefully peeled the edges of the wrapper away, noting the soft green glow, and gasped quietly when it was fully revealed - a Revival materia.

Carefully setting that into an empty slot on her bangle, she noticed one last thing in the box; it was a small envelope with chicken scratch handwriting that said “FROM RENO!”

What was inside that made her laugh harder than she had in a long while: it was a Turks ID card, complete with her name and photo, and “HONORARY MEMBER” printed on it.

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO END UP BEING SWEET AND HAPPY but my brain just didn’t feel like writing brutal trauma so... ta-da!
> 
> -Reno gets to play Boss, shockingly nothing explodes!
> 
> -I did not INTEND for it to seem like Aerith is flirting with Tseng, I realize it kinda looks that way, but she’s not. She’s just trying to have fun. Source: Dude, trust me, I’m the author
> 
> -Yes, Reno DID write himself up. He likely then signed it and hung it on the wall in his bathroom at home.
> 
> -This was written hastily over two days and barely edited, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.


End file.
